Ice In My Veins
by skywriter55
Summary: 18 year old rookie Edward Cullen is living in Denver and is experiencing a rise to fame as the year's breakout star in the NHL. When he stumbles across a homeless girl in the streets one snowy night, she captures his eye, and his heart, right away. How will they merge their opposing lives together? AH, AU.


**AN: **Here's a new story that I really wanted to make after having the revelation that I could combine hockey and Twilight… Genius. Even though I'm an avid fan of both, I don't claim to be the highest of experts, so if I mess up on a fact or a rule of ice hockey or anything like that, don't come with torches a blazin'. Chill and I shall fix it, ok? Good.

Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight, and I own nothing of the NHL or teams or logos or anything. The only thing I own is a sticker of the NHL shield on the back of a car.

**CHAPTER ONE: SNOW AROUND ME**

The girl looked left, then right, then left again. There seemed to be no one around—absolutely no one. Even though there were usually screaming throngs of people and jerseys and bright lights, tonight there was no game. The green piece of paper she'd spotted was still fluttering in the breeze, and if she didn't get it now, she would miss her opportunity. It became her only focus—it would be her source of money for the next three weeks, if she could make it last. No opposition. She could just grab it.

There weren't even other people like her to vie with. No one was watching. No one could fight her for the bill.

She dashed out from behind the wall of the giant sports center, making sure that her footsteps were quiet. She had about a hundred feet to cover in a small amount of time. The bill was still flying, fluttering, almost in the street. One more step… _Yes!_

Her foot slammed down on the bill, a twenty, just before it went tumbling into the street. She reached down and snatched it up before straightening. Even though it was a small victory in her mess of a life, a small smile graced her face. Tonight would be the first night in a week that she wouldn't go to sleep hungry. Sure, she'd still be frozen, but a full stomach could help keep her warm.

A car whizzed past, yanking her out of her reverie. The driver had the passenger side window rolled down, and he yelled, "Get inside, crazy! It's gonna fucking blizzard!" When a couple moments passed, he whooped, "Go Avs!"

_Thanks._ The girl blew her unkempt brown hair from her eyes and prepared to turn back to where she came from when she heard, "Hey!"

Her back tensed, shoulders raising, as she whipped around cautiously. A figure was approaching her in the cold and dark shadow of the large building. All she could see was the white clouding of his breath in the near-freezing temperatures. One of her normal instincts, fight or flight, was going to kick in, but the person was in front of her before she could do either.

When she could finally see the face, she felt many types of emotions. First was surprise, then suspicion, then fear, then more surprise. He was a pretty large man, though somewhat slender, and he wasn't aggressive, just wary and unfriendly.

He was a very attractive person, which was for sure. He had unkempt coppery-bronze hair that complimented his completely pale face. A black warm-up jacket hung over his obviously muscled shoulders, and his hands were shoved deep in the pockets. Clear, emerald green eyes held hers incessantly. Overall he had the face that many women wanted, that women gave up almost anything for. Beats of silence passed between them, punctuated by the white smoke that accompanied their breaths.

The girl assessed him quickly, like she did all men who she saw on the streets. He was younger than most, and a great deal better looking. His mouth didn't leer at her, and his eyes didn't shine with pity. Maybe that was because he hadn't put two and two together yet. Either way, he was neither leaning towards her nor smirking. Not time to panic—not yet, anyway.

After more uncomfortable silence, the boy opened his mouth. "That's mine."

"W-what is?" the girl asked, though she knew full well what he spoke of. She tried to crumple up the bill further in her fingerless glove, but before she could get it out of sight, he spoke again.

"That twenty. I dropped it." He wasn't being angry, just stating the obvious.

The girl didn't move a muscle. She looked like a deer in the headlights. The fingers of her right hand clenched over and over, and she listened to the crinkling noise of the most money she'd seen and possessed in a long time.

The boy frowned and stepped closer. The girl cowered back, stepping so far away that she almost went into the crosswalk.

"Calm down, and don't go into the road," he said with a confused frown. "May I just have my money back?"

The girl looked so torn that the boy furrowed his brow. Was there something wrong with her? Why was she so terrified at the notion? He wasn't threatening or being angry—he just asked for his money. Very reasonable, certainly… her body tried to overrun her rationality when her stomach protested with a violent growl.

She really didn't see a choice. She had to give the bill back to him. If she denied him and ran, she had no doubt that he would catch her. He looked extremely fit and she was weak and cold and malnourished. And she definitely wasn't in the mood to be smacked around tonight, even if it meant she could possibly have a shot at dinner. So she shoved her fist at him, cringing when he was close enough to touch, and dropped the crumbled bill in his palm.

"Thank you," he said sincerely. He stuffed the bill in the pocket of his warm-up and was intending to go when something struck him. Her shifty actions, her hunched shoulders, and her frail appearance was piecing together.

"Wait—" He was assessing her with more scrutiny now.

Her brown eyes widened as his scoured her form. Her shaggy, back-length brown hair was tangled and raggedy, clearly in need of a cut. There were smears of dirt on her face and chin. The wash of grime on her face only accented her huge eyes, glowing the color of melted chocolate. Her jawbone was severe; thin as she was, her body looked very underweight under the filthy jacket and jeans she wore. Her feet were in black Vans that had holes abound—she wasn't wearing any socks. Thin fingers peeked out from fingerless gloves.

He'd just taken money from a homeless girl. A homeless girl who was going to be outside for the rest of the night, huddling from the bitter winter of Denver, and who probably hadn't had a real meal in the past week.

She turned and fled across the street, ignoring the honking of impatient drivers who had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting her. She ran with the intensity of someone who was being pursued; she had done it many times before.

"Wait!" shouted the boy, taking the first few steps after her. "Come back!" He very nearly took his chances with just dodging the cars and decided against it at the last minute.

"Stay on the sidewalk and wait for the light!" snapped another irritable driver.

As the car was driving away, one of the passengers piped up. "Dude, shut up! That's Edward Cullen!"

Edward kept his eyes on the girl's back until he could finally cross the street after her. She was running far faster than he'd thought possible, and though he was fast too, soon she was just a speck in the darkening streets of downtown. Just like that, he could no longer see her. It was too dark, too frantic now. And the first downy flakes began to fall from the sky.

However, that was exactly why he kept running. He technically had no reason to have to find the girl, but it didn't matter. The image of her huge, scared eyes was seared into his brain. Edward ignored the usual glances and stares he got from people as he bolted by them. Hell if he'd let the girl go hungry and cold because of him taking the money.

He paused at a corner and swore to himself. The girl had literally disappeared into the night. He had no leads, no way to know where she would have gone. After swiveling his head, he decided that there was no way he'd find her on his own.

"Excuse me?" he asked a young couple walking down the street. "Did you see a girl running past here not too long ago? She had long brown hair and—"

"A running girl went in that alleyway, but I wouldn't go in there, bro. Don't you know the city?"

"Apparently not," muttered Edward before thanking them and moving into the dark alleyway. He clutched the phone he held in his pocket, lest he need to use it as a weapon or call 911. The dark alley was lined on both sides by a brick wall; pretty stereotypical, in his opinion.

"Hello?" he called cautiously. The dim alley didn't seem to hold any people, or anything at all for that matter, so he was surprised to get a response.

"I don't want any trouble."

He continued on until he came past a pile of falling-apart boxes. The girl was crouched there, huge eyes fixed on him. She slowly rose into a defensive position like she thought he would strike. He eyed what was at her feet. There was just an old, tattered blanket and a pitiful hat. It was nothing that would keep the cold at bay on a night like this.

But there was only one thing at the forefront of his mind. "Why did you give this back to me?" He displayed the twenty in his palm.

There was unmistakable lust in her eyes when she saw the money, but after a few seconds their gazes met again.

"I don't like stealing," she said quietly. "I wish I didn't have to." Her voice was calm but rough—it sounded like she was sick or had a cold or something.

Edward felt a tug of sympathy in his heart: sympathy, not pity. He did not pity the girl, for she was too strong for that. And before he could think twice about it, he blurted, "Do you want to stay with me tonight?"

Her startled gaze flashed up to his and those blazing brown eyes narrowed. Many men had asked her this question before: usually they were drunk out of their wits, but the implication was always the same. And no matter how cold it had gotten, no matter if they promised her food or drink or whatever, she still had the tiniest shred of pride and would not be taken advantage of for sex. She never had, and vowed to die before she could.

Her look of frightened, wary suspicion only piqued the boy's sadness for her. If she was this scared of a stranger offering her help, he could only imagine what had been done to her in the past.

"I'm not going to force you to do anything," he rushed to assure her. I just don't want to think of you out here in the freezing weather." Even in the secluded alleyway, snow was creeping in. It was the type of thick, heavy snow that piled up as soon as it touched the floor. Edward gestured at it to punctuate his words.

She let her eyes drift to the snow and then back up to his face. She saw nothing malicious about that face… Devastatingly good looks, yes; malice, no. No secrets, no plans hid behind his eyes. But even though she sensed he was good, she still had to ask.

"You don't… _expect_ anything from me, do you?" She readied herself to be let down again by other people. It had happened so often before that one more time would just be another grain of sand on a beach.

The boy's brow crinkled. The girl raised her eyebrows, but she was going to wait for him to figure it out. If he didn't know what she meant, then she certainly wasn't going to put any ideas in his head. Let it either come out now or forever hold its peace.

But he did figure it out. His bright green eyes widened and then dimmed in obvious revulsion. "No! No way. I would never do that."

She believed him; he was too innocent to try such a thing, and was surely sober because he couldn't be old enough to drink. Whether he meant it or not, she was sure that she could get out if he tried something. And what did she have to lose? Her shitty, years-old blanket that did nothing to dispel cold and was probably infested with bugs? Her spot in the alleyway? The opportunity to sleep inside a warmed house (and possibly get steady food) for once in years was right in front of her. There was absolutely no way that she would turn it down.

She nodded slowly, cautiously. "Okay."

The moment of pause was nearly imperceptible. Edward had no idea that she was constantly ready to bolt if he showed any sign of aggression or fury.

While they started walking awkwardly along, Edward's current situation slammed into his brain. He had just invited a girl off the streets into his apartment. His apartment, while pretty good-sized, had only one bed. He didn't have much food in the fridge and he had no idea how to handle her. What if she was crazy and violent? What if she stole from him?

No, he thought quickly. Her honesty and the pure feeling emanating from her denied any stereotypes that he may have known about homeless people. There was good in everyone, and especially… her.

"Do you have a name?" he asked her softly. They fell into step next to each other as an elderly couple hobbled past to their car.

"No," she answered simply.

That wasn't what he'd been expecting. "You don't?"

She shrugged her thin shoulders. "Why would I need one?"

He stewed over that for a minute. "Well, then what do I call you?"

"You can make something up," she said shyly, glancing up at him from under her lashes. As inappropriate as it was, he found himself gazing deep into her eyes, and the only thought was how beautiful she was even under that layer of dirt on her face.

"Bella," he blurted. _Nice move, Edward. _

She was startled. "What?"

"Um… Bella. I like that name. I think you're a Bella."

A small smile, the first one he'd seen on her face, lit up the dark streets. "Bella," she repeated. Her eyes crinkled in an adorable way when she grinned. "I think I could get used to that."

Their shared grins were brief, and replaced by more silence, but it was enough to start even the smallest of sparks between them, filling both of them with a warmth that the swirling snow couldn't touch.

**AN: **Thanks for reading! Hoped you like so far. Don't forget to read, review, fave, follow. It helps me a ton.


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